In the "Village Bottoms" of West Oakland, a grassroots effort led by Marcel Diallo and his partner Letitia Ntofon, both former FII-Oakland participants, is providing an extraordinary model of the intersection of economic and social asset building. The Village Bottoms is a historically African-American neighborhood where community members are working to create a storefront district that revives the merging of mixed-use residential and business space, and brings together culture, commerce, and daily life. With several "anchor lots" under the control of the participating group members, FII has helped bring investment capital and technical assistance to this project.